Compass Group to Hire 1,050 Indigenous Jobseekers Over Next Three Years

Commits to Increasing Percentage for Indigenous Employees from 4.5% to 10% with Support of Australian Government, Community and Business Partners

Compass Group, a world-leadingfood and support services company operating across nine business sectors in Australia, today unveiled Project 1050, a comprehensive recruitment effort aimed at hiring an additional 1,050 Indigenous jobseekers over the next three years. With the support of Government and community and business partners, Compass Group has pledged to increase its percentage of Indigenous employees from 4.5 per cent to more than 10 per cent. The company currently employs more than 500 Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people and provides training and upskilling programs to hundreds more annually as part of its long-standing Indigenous engagement program.

Senator Nigel Scullion, Minister for Indigenous Affairs, announces Compass Group as an inaugural partner in the Employment Parity Initiative.

“Our commitment to achieving positive, sustainable and capacity building outcomes for Indigenous people is core to our business. We believe there is tremendous untapped potential for business and Government to realise the significant benefits of increasing Indigenous participation rates and we are proud to be an inaugural partner of the Indigenous Employment Parity Initiative,” said Mark van Dyck, Managing Director, Compass Group Australia.

The Employment Parity Initiative aims to increase the number of large Australian companies who have a workforce reflective of the size of the Indigenous population. Specifically, the Initiative aims to get 20 000 more Indigenous job seekers into jobs by 2020 using the combined force of the private sector and government.

“Compass Group is going above and beyond the targets of the Employment Parity Initiative with its commitment to a 10 per cent Indigenous workforce within the next three years. I congratulate them in their efforts to help close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage,” said Senator Nigel Scullion, Minister for Indigenous Affairs.

“We know from our extensive experience in this area that mentoring - both in the pre-employment and early employment phases - has a direct influence on retention of new Aboriginal employees,” said Vanessa Davies, General Manager, Diversity and Indigenous Engagement, who will be overseeing the program for Compass Group.

Compass Group’s Project 1050 will focus on attracting and retaining Indigenous employees with an emphasis on job seekers that are long-term unemployed and/or facing significant barriers to employment. Particular emphasis will be placed on job seekers in rural communities, with the majority recruited for positions within ESS Support Services Worldwide, Delta FM and Omega, the company’s three dedicated sector brands serving the defence, remote and offshore sectors. Candidates will also have the opportunity to work in urban settings with Compass Group’s other sector brands, including Eurest, Medirest and Restaurant Associates. Compass Group will engage a number of business and community partners to support this initiative, with job readiness training and mentorship playing a key role in the program.

“Project 1050 will encompass the entire employment journey to ensure the best possible outcome for everyone involved with the shared aim of enabling entry level workers to gain employment in the hospitality industry and beyond and to apply the acquired skills and knowledge to better their circumstances,” added Davies.

Project 1050 is an extension of Compass Group’s 19-year commitment to increasing the participation of Indigenous Australians. Its multi-layered Indigenous Engagement Strategy sees it directly employing more than 500 Indigenous Australians, developing business relationships with Indigenous partners and supporting local initiatives to help build stronger and healthier communities.

Compass Group’s commercial initiatives with Aboriginal business partners have directly contributed $43 million to Traditional Owner groups. In addition, Compass Group actively pursues diversity in its supply chain, purchasing goods and services from more than 25 Indigenous-owned businesses. Compass Group is a founding member of Supply Nation, Australia’s premier business-to-business membership body dedicated to growing diversity within the supply chain, and was named 2014 Corporate Member of the Year. Compass Group was also awarded the prestigious George Mure Memorial Professional Development Award for its Aboriginal Workforce Development Project at the 2013 Savour AustraliaTM Restaurant and Catering HostPlus Awards for Excellence.

Compass Group Careers

About Compass Group

Compass Group is a world-leading food and support services company operating in around 50 countries, employing more than 500,000 people and serving over 4 billion meals every year. In the year to 30 September 2014, the company generated annual revenue of £17.1 billion ($29AUD billion.)